What is the shoulder?
Most people think of the shoulder as just the ball and socket, but the clavicle and scapula are part of your shoulder as well! Even a tiny misalignment of any of these parts of the shoulder can cause significant pain and dysfunction. Because most medical doctors are focusing on big issues like fractures and dislocations, misalignments are often ‘too small’ of an issue for them to treat. We help patients with dislocations and misalignments get all of the parts of the shoulder working together again.
How we treat shoulder issues
Treatment for most shoulder issues involves adjustments to fix any misalignments of the ball and socket, clavicle and scapula. We often add in muscle strengthening activities and massage to help make sure the area is strong enough and flexible enough for the adjustment to stay in place. You may also need to rest from the activities that caused the injury to give your body time to heal. Usually treatment isn’t painful, and patients who stick to their treatment plan get full function back. Depending on the injury, treatment may take one visit or several weeks.
Some common shoulder issues we treat
Frozen Shoulder
You’ve probably had a previous dislocation or trauma that wasn’t fully resolved. Now it’s too painful to lift your arm and doctors are saying abnormal adhesions are keeping your shoulder from moving freely. Adjusting the shoulder one time won’t fix the problem because the scar tissue you’ve built up from the previous injury is pushing the joint out of place more. We’ll use a combination of massage and acupuncture to reduce the adhesions, then use adjustments to make sure all the parts of your shoulder are in place.
Dislocation
A doctor has reduced your dislocation, but it keeps happening and you’re in pain. Maybe you need surgery but you don’t have the luxury of being out of work for a long period of time. We’ll take care of the dislocation first. Then, because dislocation can tear ligaments and tendons, we’ll strengthen your shoulder muscles to compensate for what’s been torn. Some patients ultimately decide their shoulder is strong and stable enough not to need surgery.
Impingement Syndrome
You are in pain and the doctor says it’s because the tendons of your rotator cuff are getting pinched. You may think surgery is your only option. But impingement is often misdiagnosed, and can be caused by bones out of place in any part of your shoulder or arm, including your clavicle or elbow. Sometimes we can address the issue with an adjustment. We will also strengthen the area with rehab and break down scar tissue that has formed.
Bursitis & Tendonitis
You’ve tried injections, but relief from the pain is only temporary. It’s often because the inflammation of the bursa or tendon is being caused by a misalignment in your shoulder region that’s irritating the joint. To fix the root of the problem, we need to address the misalignment so the inflammation can heal. We may also supplement with homeopathic injection therapy and rehab to strengthen the area and break down scar tissue.